Gryffindor's Last Hope
by Ophie
Summary: this is an MWPP/L fic. It's Lily and James romance, but not for awhile, but it also focuses on the other relationships, and on Lily and James' eventual destiny. It also tells the story of the life of Lily Potter nee Evans. I am sure you'll find something
1. Year One- The Founders Lasting Impressio...

Godric Gryffindor looked around himself at the newly built castle

Godric Gryffindor looked around himself at the newly built castle. Yes, Hogwarts would be a great school, teaching young wizards and witches how to survive in the perilous world of magic. 

"Godric!" Salazar Slytherin's cold voice echoed around the high ceiling as he called from the Great Hall "Hurry up, we're going to put the charms on the hat now!" 

Gryffindor allowed himself a small shudder at Slytherin's voice. If there was any man Gryffindor did not trust, it was him. There was something about Slytherin; the pompous man whose voice was filled with an icy calm and whose mind worked as fast as Gryffindor's. He could see it now, Slytherin would breed evil, and his descendants would bring about terrible sadness. He would have to do something to prevent the complete abolition of those who were opposed to evil. But what it would be, he did not yet know. He entered the Great Hall to see his colleagues sitting at the head table. 

There was Roweana Ravenclaw, a proud looking woman, with gray streaked red hair and a stately roman nose. Her face was unsmiling, and had a lot of character to it. She was not the most beautiful of women, but there was something very appealing in her features that made men and women alike want to befriend her. Sitting next to her was Horatio Hufflepuff, a short bald man whose large grin was withered only by the angry glare he was receiving from Salazar Slytherin, who was sitting beside him. Hufflepuff had a shockingly happy personality, and the tendency to drift off into thought, a habit which greatly annoyed Slytherin. Hufflepuff's face was round and seemed to be very red all of the time. He had a squash shaped nose and kind eyes that shone his good humor from the depth of his soul like lanterns. The man seated next to him was his exact opposite.

Slytherin was lean, and very pale. His black hair was thick and sleek, as if someone had spent much time working on it for him. His beard was well trimmed and immaculate. Green eyes glinted from his cadaverous face, which often held a grimace and rarely held a smile. This man was the picture of calm, but those who knew him could very well see the bubbling passion that dwelled inside his soul. Gryffindor just wasn't sure that the passion was so much benevolent as it was harmful. Then there was himself, an old man, his aureate hair streaked with white, and his face beginning to loose the buoyancy it had had when he was young. He had many laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, but the lines of many hours lost in thought crossed his forehead like the age lines in an old tree. His smile was kind, beneath the faded yellow of his beard, and his eyes sparkled with the same euphoria that his words held.

"Godric, what kept you? We need to do this quickly, before the new headmistress arrives." Slytherin said frigidly as Gryffindor sat down. 

"Yes Salazar" Gryffindor replied, his voice filled with calm tension as he brought out his wand. Ever since they're argument about allowing muggle born wizards and witches into Hogwarts, the relationship between himself and Salazar had become much more inimical, and they had spoken as little as possible. Gryffindor did not believe in segregation, and he had finally won out, allowing everyone to attend Hogwarts, not just those of pure blood.

"I shall begin with my house then." Ravenclaw said, taking out her wand to point at the hat lying on the table; a relic once owned by Gryffindor's father. Each of them had created houses for the students to dwell in, because they each favored different qualities in people. They had decided to use the hat to sort them, and had given the patched old thing a personality not dissimilar to that of Gryffindor's father, except for the fact that the hat could see inside the wearers mind. Now all they had to do was tell it what they valued in students. The hat was passed from witch to wizard throughout the next hour. Ravenclaw valued those who were smart and witty, Hufflepuff preferred those who were just and loyal, Slytherin liked the ones of pure blood and cunning, while Gryffindor himself favored almost the same things as Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but also regarded bravery as rather important. By the time they were done, twilight had fallen, and the enchanted ceiling was dotted with tiny pinpricks of light. The headmistress would be arriving shortly, and the four set about calling up a late tea.

At midnight, Gryffindor awoke from a strange dream. His nighttime apparitions were sometime prophetic, but never had one been so clear in it's meaning. He quickly changed into his robes, and stole away into the very depths of Hogwarts, where a room none other than he knew of was hidden away. It was mostly red and gold, with some somber tapestries hanging on the walls, and a painting of his father over the fireplace. A bookshelf lined with books whose spines were blank lined one of the walls. The books in red leather were Charms, the books in blue leather were Curses, and the books in gold leather were Potions. The ones in black were assorted, and five books in deep green were his personal journals. But Gryffindor had not come down here to red or mull over his dream. Close to the window, a table laden with Potions ingredients sat, and above it, shelves of ingredients hung, as if in anticipation of being used.

Gryffindor took a large black book off of the topmost shelf of the bookcase, and opened it to page 453. This was the spell from his dream. Quickly, the old man set to work, knowing that the spell would take much sweat, and a little blood to complete. When Gryffindor added the final ingredient and left the Potion to simmer, it was well into the afternoon of the next day. He recorded all of his actions into his almost full journal, and returned to his bed. Little did he know that at that time, Slytherin too had been working deep inside the dungeons of the castle, and his work did not have the same goal as Gryffindors. Slytherin's work involved serpents, plenty of blood, and the salty tears of a dying child, and he put little love into his potion. Instead he put in hatred and malice. When he was done, he too returned to his chambers, content that he had created a rather significant obstacle for Gryffindor to overcome.

Three years later, Gryffindor was finishing his Potion, using the last of his energy to send a tiny ball of hope out into the world. This, he knew, was the only hope of survival for the muggle race. If he had failed, he had left a nation to die. Afterwards, he returned to his chambers, and fell into a deep sleep from which he would never again awaken.

**__**

A/N Alright, this is Chapter one/Prologue, and it is just up to see what reactions it gets. If it gets good reactions, I'll post the next bit, which is already written. I can guarantee that this will be a long fic, because I plan to write lot's in detail, and, well, enjoy it, woncha? Please review, it's a spirit booster! J 

Thanks! 


	2. Year One- When the first baby laughed......

Godric Gryffindor looked around himself at the newly built castle __

When the first baby laughed, it's laugh broke into a million pieces, and these pieces became the first faeries.

Calliope Evans struggled to stand up from her seat as she realized what was happening. The contractions had begun with a sharp pang of reality, and she called out for her husband frantically.

"Mark! Mark, it's time!" she burst out, and her husband's red head shot up in anticipation.

"I'll get the bags and you get into the car!" he exclaimed, setting down his cup of tea so quickly it spilt onto the white tablecloth. 

The young couple set off at a quick pace, excited about the arrival of their first child. At the hospital, Calliope was given into the competent care of a nurse, while Mark paced the waiting room, true to the values of sitcom fathers. He hadn't known he could enter the delivery room if he'd wanted to. 

In the delivery room, Calliope breathed deeply, and suddenly, the pain seemed to increase at a rapid speed. The nurse, thinking that she was going into labour, rushed out of the room to fetch the doctor. The world before Calliope seemed to grow hazy, and in the haze, she saw a kindly old man, wearing what looked like a long black nightgown, standing beside her bed. It didn't frighten her, because she knew that hallucinations were common when one was taking birth inducing drugs. It wouldn't be till years later, when she looked back on that moment, that she would realize she had refused any and all drugs.

The man didn't say anything, but touched Calliope lightly on the stomach, and smiled at her, almost sadly. Then he vanished, leaving Calliope in the doctors experienced hands. 

Finally, the nurse let Mark Evans in to see his wife, and when he saw her, he nearly fainted. There lay two babies, one somewhat smaller than the other, curled up in the crooks of Calliope's arms.

"Isn't it wonderful, Mark? Two baby girls!" Calliope exclaimed groggily.

"But the doctor never mentioned twins." Mark whispered to her "He said a healthy baby. One healthy baby."

"Yes. But they think that this one." Calliope gently moved her arm holding the smallest of the infants " was being smothered by her sister. The technology is fairly new, Mark. They probably missed her by default. The nurse said it's almost like a miracle." She smiled hazily at him. Mark couldn't help but be a little confused, he was sure that there had only ever been one baby, but for his wife's sake, he smiled, and held out his arms, picking up both of the babies.

"I like the names Petunia and Lily, don't you Mark?" Calliope said "Flower babies" she yawned, drifting into a pleasant sleep. Mark nodded, and buzzed the nurse, who wrote out birth certicficates for the twin girls, and took them to the nursery. Mark followed with all of the proud fathers to look in on his new children with a proud face. They really were lovely, especially Lily, who seemed to never stop smiling and gurgling with laughter.

Eleven years had passed since the birth of the Evans twins, and hundreds had passed since the death of Godric Gryffindor, yet something of him lingered still, divided but soon to be reunited by something greater than fate.

Lily Evans woke up at 4 am on her 11th birthday. Immediately, she tumbled out of bed, and reached up to shake her twin sister, Petunia.

"Petty! Wake up, it's our birthday!" she exclaimed, but received only a grumble in response-Petunia hated waking up early.

"Fine suit your self, Old Boot!" she exclaimed, using her father's nickname for either of them when they became grumpy. She hopped like a rabbit all the way down the hall, until she reached her parents room. There, she, opened the door quietly, and, taking a running leap, landed right on her mother's back. Calliope was awoken from a dream in which she was talking to her father- at least it had seemed like her father. But this man's face was different, and he had been dressed in a deep red night gown. She was sure her father had never in all his life worn anything deep red, let alone a nightgown. But even if he was dressed rather oddly, Calliope couldn't help liking him, even if she could not recall a single word of their conversation.

"Lily" she mumbled, reaching up to stroke her daughter's hair "It's quarter after 4. Can't you wait a bit?"

"No mummy, I cannot." Lily answered, smiling hugely because she knew she had already won.

"Fine then, go turn on the telly if you must, but keep it low, right Duck?" her father said, and Lily skipped off, skidding on the rug at the bottom of the stairs. She flicked on the telly, but before she could become engrossed in the program, two strange things happened. One of the things was that Lily's TV screen went blank, and the other was that she heard a scratching at the window, and, upon closer inspection, found an owl perched on the ledge. Lily frowned. She wasn't sure why an owl was perched there, she thought she remembered her dad saying they were "nocturnal" or whatever the word was, which meant they always went out at night, and never in the day time. Still, she concluded that the owl might be ill, and Lily had a soft spot for sick animals. She'd once taken pity on a spider with only 4 legs, and kept it in a glass jar on her dresser until her mother found it and squished it. So, Lily carefully opened the front door, and walked outside in her robe and slippers. The owl cocked it's head, looked at her, and made a muffled hooting sound. The reason the hoot was so muffled was because the owl had a letter in it's beak. Lily briefly wondered if this was some cruel joke on the poor thing, until the owl dropped the letter at her feet and flew off. Lily blinked. Maybe it was a letter bomb? She was a smart child, and her parents had always told her :Don't touch strange things. Only Lily really didn't see how a letter delivered by an owl could hurt her. Finally, she bent down and picked it up.

On the front, in green ink it said

Miss Lily Evans

The Twin's Room

4431 Croschenda Street

Manchester, England

Lily gaped at the letter. She never got mail. Only her mum and dad got mail. But obviously, this was addressed to her. She went inside, clutching the letter in her hand.

Across the street, a boy of about 11 happened to glance out the window as he was standing up to get some more cereal. When he looked, he saw a small red-haired girl looking at an owl, which dropped a letter and flew off. The girl regarded the letter for awhile, then picked it up and read the front. She then went inside, and closed the door. Sirius Black grinned. If he wasn't mistaken, his new neighbor had just received a letter by owl, which mean that her family were magical. He almost jumped for joy! Here he had been, thinking that his summer would be absolute mash without anyone to spend time with, and suddenly, as if someone had granted his wish, he had been issued a new playmate, who was also a witch. He decided to go see her- as soon as Scooby Doo was over.

Meanwhile, Lily had read the letter, and was almost jumping for joy. She quickly made another trip to her parents room, and landed again on Calliope's back.

"Mum! Mum! I am a witch!" she exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down.

"Lily, honey, whatever Petunia called you this time , I am sure she didn't mean it." Her mother muttered, trying to shake the nagging feeling that was telling her to sit up and take notice.

"No, mum, look, this letter came for me!" Lily said, waving the peace of paper as if it were a flag.

"A what?" Calliope sat up, and scrutinized her daughters face. She didn't seem to be making it up.

"Let me see the letter Lily." She said, and her daughter handed it over, anticipation growing on her freckled face. Calliope read the letter several times. The logical part of her mind kept trying to tell her that this was impossible, Lily was certainly not a witch, what a horrible thing, someone calling her daughter a witch! But the side of her mind that was always floating off into the clouds, dreaming about a faint memory of soaring above the earth on a broomstick that she was sure she had never lived, told her to believe the letter, and follow the directions given. Calliope got up, and quickly got dressed. Then she took Lily downstairs, and made them each a cup of tea.

"Alright, Lily. We'll got to this pub place. God knows why I am doing this, but I've got a feeling, and if your grandmum ever taught me anything, it was not to go against your instinct. Only, don't tell your father, Lily. He wouldn't approve. We'll say we're going to go dress shopping- you, me and Petunia. Then we'll go find this place, and see if it's true." Calliope wondered if she was wrong in getting her daughters hopes up, but she decided that they could just look, what was the harm in that?

Shortly after Mr. Evans had left for work (promising the twins their birthday presents that evening) the doorbell rang. Lily answered it to find a tall dark haired woman and a boy who looked almost identical to her. The boy was grinning from ear to ear, and was clutching a broom in his right hand. Lily was puzzled.

"Why do you have a broom?" she asked him straight out, before they could even say hello.

"I thought you might like to ride it with me." Sirius replied, holding it out to her. 

"Ride a broom? Are you absolutely nuts?" Lily demanded, as her mother appeared beside her.

"Lily, who is this?" Calliope asked her daughter.

"I am Dahlia Black, and this is my son, Sirius. We were just delighted to find out that there was another Wizarding family around here." The tall woman said, and her words nearly made Lily jump out of her bunny slippers in joy.

"Mum! See! Look!" she exclaimed, unable to form complete sentences in her excitement

"Yes, I see Lily." Calliope said, sounding rather dazed. "Please, Mrs. Black, won't you come in and sit down?" she said, stepping aside to let the woman and her son in.

"So your not really a magic family?" Mrs. Black sounded rather upset as she digested what Calliope had told her.

"Not as a family, but Lily received a letter- it says she's been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and-" Calliope looked around to see if Lily was listening, but her, Petunia and Sirius were outside playing "I thought it was complete traff. That is, until you showed up at our door. Lily is so excited, but…is it safe for her?" 

Mrs. Black studied the woman across from her for a few moments. Calliope had wavy blonde hair and a thin, pointy face. Her blue eyes were narrow and she looked rather suspicious. She was tall and lean, but she moved as if she was gliding on air. Yet there was something about her that revealed an inner peace that Mrs. Black had never seen before. Somehow, without having talked to her for more than 20 minutes, Mrs. Black felt as if she knew Calliope as well as if they'd met as babies.

"It is perfectly safe, I assure you Calliope." She said, her tone sounding much more condescending than she had wanted. Calliope moved away a little, as if she had been stung, and Mrs. Black instantly regretted her tone.

"I am sorry, I am a little tired. We just moved. My husband is doing some…muggle observation. Because we wizards do not know as much about the muggle society as we'd like, and he has moved all of us into this muggle neighborhood. Thankfully, we have a rather large forest behind our house, so Sirius can run wild- he has a habit of doing so most hours of the day. Perhaps when we move back to our house next September, Lily would like to come stay with us? To get a taste of a wizarding family?" Mrs. Black smiled warmly, although she wasn't sure where her offer had come from. Certainly, she wanted to befriend the family, perhaps invite Lily over that summer- but why had next September suddenly popped into her mind? It was a phenomena she could not explain, and so she did not attempt to do so.

"Well, that sounds wonderful." Calliope was a little startled by this sudden offer of friendship from the woman she had just met, but she also welcomed it with open arms for she had few friends. Calliope rarely left the house because of Petunia and Lily, and when she did it was to grocery shop. And the fact that most of the street was inhabited by conformist old spinsters or uppity married women did not much help her quest for friendship either. Calliope was a bit of a hippie; she burned incense, she meditated, and she still believed in magic- although she had never shared this belief with her husband, Mark, who was a Physics teacher and didn't believe in such stuff. The real problem with Lily being a witch was that it would be hard convincing Mark to let her attend this Hogwarts school.

Mrs. Black smiled again, and took a sip of her tea. Somehow, she could sense that this would be a very interesting experience, involving these muggles and their magical daughter.

"I am Lily Evans" Lily said importantly to Sirius, who had taken quite a shine to the little red head with the turned up nose, smatter of freckles and sparkling green eyes. 

"I know. And this is your twin sister Petunia" he said, proud to know what Lily was going to say next, although he couldn't see how they were twins. Petunia was blonde, with wavy hair like her mothers, although she did have the turned up nose, her face was thin, and almost horse-like. Her green eyes were as dangerous as Lily's were friendly. She was shrewd and not as talkative as her sister, who made friends easily.

"That's not what I was going to say" Lily said, rather put off by Sirius, not only because he had anticipated her next sentence, but also because he was hovering several feet off of the ground while they talked. Finally, she gave into temptation, and touched the broom.

"I say, can I have a go on your broom?" she asked shyly, feeling rather stupid suddenly, although she didn't know why.

"Of course you can!" Sirius said, delighted to share his new broomstick with the pretty little redhead.

"Good. Now, you get off so I can sit on it." Lily said, putting her hands on her hips. Sirius' smile faded somewhat. He'd been hoping to ride it with her. He gave into compromising. 

"How about if I teach you how to first, then you ride on your own?" he said coyly. Lily managed to look shocked and angry at the same time.

"You know, Sirius, I am only 11" she said, taking him completely by surprise.

"Me too." He told her

"You really don't act like your eleven." She informed him as she pushed him off of the broom and attempted to clamber onto it herself.

"Oh really? And why not?" Sirius demanded, getting angry.

"Because you don't. What sane eleven year old boy doesn't think eleven year old girls are gross?"

Lily had Sirius stumped there. He'd never thought girls were gross. Ever. Thus, he turned to throwing her own comments back at her "What sane eleven year old girl doesn't think boys are gross?" he demanded of her.

"Everyone knows that girls are much more mature than boys are." Lily retorted smugly as she finally managed to sit herself on the broomstick.

"Girls are supposed to sit side-saddle" Sirius informed her.

"Stuff side-saddle, how are they supposed to do dives and all that rubbish?" Lily asked, following his switch of topic smoothly.

"I dunno." Sirius once again found himself in a corner, and was amazed. Usually, he was the one talking other people into proverbial corners.

"Of course you don't." Lily informed him.

"Want to be my friend, Lily?" Sirius asked suddenly. Now Lily was taken by surprise, but she soon overcame it. 

"Yes." She decided firmly, and grinned at the little boy, who was not really so little, and who was still sitting on the ground, looking up at her.

Lily was nervous. No. she decided. She was beyond nervous. She was wet-your-knickers scared of going to Hogwarts. She looked over at Sirius to find him throwing a dungbomb up into the air and catching it in his hand. He was the picture of serenity, and Lily glared enviously at him, until he felt her gaze, and turned to grin at her.

"Nervous Lily?"

"Yes." Lily answered truthfully. After all, why lie to her best friend?

Mrs. Black and Mrs. Evans sat up front, and smiled. Over the summer, the two families had become very friendly, and the Blacks had been a major asset in convincing Mark Evans to allow Lily to attend Hogwarts. They had shopped at Diagon Alley together, gone out for ice cream, and the three children (Sirius, Lily and Petunia) had gone to see a movie together, called "Jaws" which Sirius was still talking about.

"Don't be nervous honey" Mrs. Black said soothingly "It's not as if you're the only muggle born witch there. Usually, there is as many of you as witches and wizards from magical families."

Lily nodded weakly, but she still didn't feel better. Sirius punched her lightly on the shoulder 

"And I'll be there for you, Lily! We're going to be in Gryffindor together!" he crowed, doing a dance while he sat buckled into his seat. Lily laughed. But Petunia, who was sitting on the other side of Sirius, elbowed him sharply in the ribs. Before, she had been the only one who could make Lily laugh. Now, her twin sister spent more time with Sirius than with Petunia, and she felt very left out. 

As they pulled into the station, Petunia jumped out, and raced around to her sister's door, which she opened quickly. Before Lily could get out, her sister had her arms around Lily's stomach and she was crying. Taken aback, all Lily could do was hug Petunia back.

"Don't go Lily! You'll forget all about me!" Petunia sobbed. Lily gave her sister one final squeeze, but stepped out of her arms. 

"I am leaving, Petty, but I'll write you, I promise. " she said solemnly. Petunia, who was used to having her way, had not gotten what she wanted. So she resorted to other means of attack.

"I'll never speak to you again if you go Lily Evans!" Petunia cried passionately, anger in ever featured and malice in every word. Lily stepped back from her sister.

"Petty, don't be so mean to me." She told her calmly "I'll be back for Christmas." And with that, her and Sirius departed through the barrier, leaving Petunia to yell insults at the brick wall, through which she could not follow her twin sister.

"Sirius, this place is huge!" Lily said, clutching the handle of her cart tightly. But she was pleased to see that Sirius looked amazed too. And it was only the train station.

"Come on Lily, let's get our trunks loaded." Sirius said. The two friends hauled first Sirius' then Lily's trunk into an empty compartment, and sat down on the plushy seats, breathing heavily. A shout was heard far off down the hall, and then pounding footsteps. Lily and Sirius looked expectantly out the door of their compartment, only to be met by two boys, who bowled them over into the compartment, and slammed the door behind them. The one with glasses said some words, and the door locked. Lily, who had landed heavily on her trunk, sat up, ready to pound whoever had knocked into her. But Sirius, sensing his friends anger, threw an arm out to stop her.

"Sorry about knocking you over Red." The one with the glasses said to Lily, who immediately bristled. She loathed nicknames.

"I am Sirius Black, and this is Lily Evans." Sirius said. Lily had thought that he would tell Them off for barging in and knocking them down. She frowned.

"I am James Potter and this is Remus Lupin." The boy with the glasses looked at Sirius, then at the frowning Lily.

"Is she your girlfriend?" he asked Sirius in an undertone.

"Of course not!" Lily answered shrilly, as she sat down on one of the seats.

"Well sorry Old Boot!" Potter exclaimed. Lily allowed herself to gape. She had thought only her father used that term.

"Where did you learn that name from?" she demanded of him. Potter raised his eyebrows

"I dunno, it just seemed appropriate. Why?"

"That's what my dad calls me when I am being grumpy." Lily informed him, feeling shy all of a sudden. Potter grinned. 

"Oh, I see. Well, don't worry Lily, we're just like a family now." He laughed at the surprise on Lily's face, and pulled out a stack of cards. "Exploding Snap anyone?"

After a tantilizing journey across the lake, and a shaky walk up into the school, the first years found themselves standing in front of everyone, waiting to be sorted.

"Oh dear god." Lily whispered to herself. Potter, who was ahead of her, turned around and grinned. Sirius squeezed Lily's shoulder, and Lupin smiled hesitantly at her .She returned Lupin's smile, but not Potter's. Somehow, she didn't like him, although he had been nothing but pleasant since they had met.

"Black, Sirius!" The Professor that had shown them in, Professor McGonagall, called out the names of students from a long list. After Sirius became a Gryffindor, Boron, Elly became a Ravenclaw, Claimont, Brian because a Slytherin, Cranble Georgia became a Ravenclaw, Erre Michelle became a Hufflepuff, and finally, professor McGonagall called out

"Evans, Lily!"

Lily nervously made her way to the stool, and sat down, putting the hat on her head.

__

Well, well, well, I have been waiting a long time for you Miss. Evans. I am glad you finally arrived, and just in time too. Let me see…bravery, Oh, but I expected that, Loyalty, and a temper! Good thing, you can't let yourself get too soft. Yet I see a strong love for your friends, and of course your destiny is very clear, I really don't have a choice about which house, he'll want to watch over your so it's………GRYFFINDOR!

Lily quickly too off the hat, and ran to sit beside Sirius, who hugged her. 

"I told you we'd be in the same house!" he exclaimed, and Lily felt happier. "Let's hope James and Remus are in here too!" Sirius continued, forcing Lily to sigh. _Oh well_ she thought _One minute your up, the next your right back down again_

Sure enough, Potter and Lupin were sorted into Gryffindor, and Sirius spent the evening meal talking to them. Lily, who hated being left out, ignored them, and tried to concentrate on the wonders around her. She felt hurt because Sirius seemed to have abandoned her for the two boys they had met earlier, and she couldn't understand why. Wasn't she just as interesting as them? Lily followed her house up to the portrait, and entered. Immediately, she went to her room, and, picking a bed, fell upon it in deep slumber.

Lily woke up to the angry shouts of her dorm mates, and, strangely, the happy voice of Sirius.

"Lily?" he asked, managing to get past one of the girls, who was trying in vain to keep him from entering.

Lily sat up groggily, and pushed back the curtains. Sirius grinned

"Hi Lily! Thought we should get an early start! We'll be waiting for you in the common room." He hollered, then, bowing to the girls, he turned heel and left. 

Lily got out of bed, smiled sheepishly at the glares from the other girls, and got dressed. Then she grabbed her backpack, books, and wand, and hurried downstairs. Potter, Sirius, Lupin and another boy were sitting on the couch. When she accidentally sent her Charms book flying down the stairs, they turned around and saw her. Sirius grinned.

"We don't have to leave for classes for another three hours" he told her. Lily blinked.

"Exactly what time is it?" she demanded. It was Potter's turn to grin

"Four in the morning." He announced. Lily groaned. 

"No wonder they were angry! Can't you be quiet like any normal person Sirius?" Lily asked in good humor.

"Nope. Just leave your things here, Lily. We have some exploring to do." Sirius told her.

"How do you expect to do that without getting caught?" she demanded

"With James' invisibility cloak!"

"You have an invisibility cloak?" Lily forgot her dislike for Potter at the news of his posession, and asked to see it. Potter took out his cloak, and placed it carefully on her hands. Lily inspected it, then flung it over top of herself.

"This is great Potter" came her disembodied voice "Wish I had one! I've never ever been invisible. Wow. One minute, alright?" Lily said, and before Potter could answer, they heard footsteps running up the girls staircase.

"What is she doing?" Potter demanded of Sirius, who shrugged. Soon, the footsteps came pounding back downstairs, and Lily tore of the cloak, her face alight with happiness.

"Wow! I looked in the mirror! You really can't see me!" she exclaimed.

"No duh, Red, it's an invisibility cloak. Potter told her. Lily frowned.

"My name is Lily, Potter."

"No it's not, it's Lily Evans." Sirius said, grinning.

"No, I meant- urgh. Never mind. Are we going or not?" Lily snapped, pulling on the end of her braid.

In answer to her question, Potter grabbed the cloak, and beckoned for everyone to join him under it. Then they made their way to the portrait, and down the corridor. They hadn't gotten far, however, when Potter accidentally tripped Lily, and sent her flying out of the cloak and into a suit of armor. The crash that it made as it fell to the floor was enough to wake up the entire castle, Lily thought. Quickly, she jumped up, and tried to figure out where her friends were. Before she could move very far, she was yanked backwards, into the cloak again.

"Idiot!" she hissed at Potter, rubbing her elbow where she had fallen on it.

"Cow!" he hissed back, just a sharp meow echoed down the corridor.

"Look!" the boy Lily didn't know cried "A cat!" he was just about to run forward when Lily, who was closest to him, grabbed his arm and yanked him back. The boy let out a little cry, and the cat narrowed her luminous eyes, and sat down, as if waiting for something. Soon the five could hear footsteps, although they were very light, echoing off of the walls. Lily felt deliciously scared, she'd always imagined getting into this kind of mischief, but she had never done it. A man, incased in shadow, turned the corner. He was grumbling. As he got closer, Lily saw that the man was obviously peeved.

"Is it that damn poltergeist again Miss. Norris? Been chasin' him all over the bloody school. Or is it some wee students out of bed again?" the man squinted and looked around him, trying, Lily supposed, to make out the dim shapes of students in the moonlight. Lily prayed to whatever being was looking over her to make him leave. Suddenly, as if her prayers had been answered, a loud crash echoed from the direction the man had appeared. He quickly turned around, and took off, his cat trotting at his heels, her tail the size of a chimney brush. Finally, when she was sure he was gone, Lily breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to look the other boys. Potter groaned. He was sure that Lily would begin scolding them, and ask to return to the common room.

"That was jolly fun! Shall we see if we can find the kitchens?" Lily said. She'd loved the Hogwarts food at the feast the night before, and she wanted more. Potter grinned. Maybe this girl was alright after all.

"Sure Red, let's go!" he exclaimed, and the gang set off to find the banquet they were sure awaited them.

A/N Thank you! I couldn't remember what the founders names were, so I made a couple up! I am glad that there are two women! I'll get that changed ASAP! Anyways, I hope you like my fic, because I am having fun. Haven't got the plot completely worked out yet, but t'will come in time. Has anyone seen a Knights tale? They use the word git in it!!!!!! 

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Broken Starlight: Thank you for reviewing! Your reviews are so nice! And I absolutely cannot wait to read the next part of your story! Everyone should read Broken Starlight's Lily and James fic, because it is incredibly well written, and it's one of my utmost favorite stories on ff.net! You always mention me in you're A/N's, so I am mentioning you! Plus, you've reviewed so many of my fics, and your always so supportive, you definitely deserve it!

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George and Fred: I can guarantee that it will not be one of those fics that starts at first year and does every single year! I don't have the time nor the patience! I think I'll start with first year- it's important, believe me. It sets up characters and relationships- but after, I'll prolly skip to 3rd or 5th year.

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Also, thanks to:

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GoldenPhoenix , 

iluvharry2001, 

Pheonixx,

~wicked*witch~, 

Torch, 

x Goddess Eden x, 

Unforgiven Child (thanks especially, because you review a lot of my fics too, and your reviews are always soooo nice!)

StarChildHermione86

and

Kitty 

For reviewing my fic!!!!!! I really appreciate it a whole lot, thanks again!!!!!


	3. Year One- Jealousy Makes the World Go 'R...

They never did end up finding the entrance to the kitchens

They never did end up finding the entrance to the kitchens. However, they did find the way to the Slytherin common room, and a secret passage that led to one of the girl's bathrooms. When they finally decided to stop exploring, Lily realized that it was 7:30, and they rushed to get to the Great Hall for brekky. The food was delicious, and Lily stuffed her face because she had only ever eaten Hogwarts food once (and she wanted to try all five flavors of Danish). As soon as the meal had gotten underway, a stern woman (Professor McGonagall, Lily recalled someone calling her) handed out timetables to the Gryffindors. Lily scanned hers as she poured herself some tea. Lily always drank tea; she preferred it to any other morning beverage. Always without milk or sugar. It helped her wake up. 

"Oh bully, we have Potions with the Slytherins." Potter noted, making a wry face.

"But not until tomorrow, pity it's double Potions, though" Sirius said. Lily frowned.

"What is so terrible about the Slytherins?" she asked, picking up her cup of tea and taking a rather large gulp. Potter practically spat out his eggs at her question. He turned to Sirius, and shook his head.

"Sirius, didn't you tell your girlfriend about the evils of the Slytherins?!" he demanded, acting shocked.

"I am not his girlfriend." Lily hissed angrily.

"Red, the Slytherins are an evil bunch of slimy gits who would like nothing better than to ruin your day if she came across them and you were all alone. Didn't you read Hogwarts: A History? Slytherin has turned out the most Dark Wizards in all of Hogwarts. Voldemort was part of Slytherin."

"Whom?" Lily inquired, sure that she had heard the name before.

"Voldemort. Most people call him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He's an evil wizard who is currently rising into power. He kills muggles for fun…he also kills muggle born witches and wizards." Potter explained, his face grave for the first time since Lily had met him. Lily was intrigued.

"Really? How terrible!" she said, sounding almost excited "And how long has he been killing people…how does he kill them…Why does he kill them? Oh, wait you said, it was for fun…Why does he kill witches and wizards?…Can't the Ministry of Magic do anything to stop him?"

"Ummm….He's been around for about a year and a half, he uses a forbidden curse- I'll lend you my book on them if you like-No one knows why. Maybe for fun. Maybe because he fears their power. The Ministry hasn't been able to stop him yet. We lost 5 Aurors in the last meeting with him." Potter told Lily.

"Don't worry, Lily, it's not as if he would dare to come to Hogwarts." Lupin told her. "Dumbledore is one of the most powerful wizards in history, as or more powerful than Voldemort."

"Who says I was worried?" Lily demanded of him, spearing eggs on her fork with force. "I was just wondering about him. You know how the saying goes 'know thine enemies' or something? My dad always says it." 

"Well, well, well look at what we have here, some Grotesque Gryffindors!" a voice behind Lily dripping with repugnance muttered. She spun around, angry for the interruption and the rude comments.

"Do you mind?" she snarled, showing more tooth and fang than was necessary. (A/N I love that, tooth and fang, it's a great expression!)

"Not at all mudblood." A boy who was tall and pale spat, glaring at Lily as if she were roadkill.

"What did you call her?" Sirius demanded, standing up.

"A mudblood. M-U-D B-L-O-O-D" the boy spelt out for him, looking as if he was going against his best instincts and standing put instead of running. Sirius lunged. Lily grabbed Sirius' arm, and pulled him down into his seat. Then she sat down. Lily was not about to fight or be fought for. Especially not on her first day at a new school. If she ever wanted to fight these boys, then she would be doing so, not Sirius. She told him all this in hushed undertones while the two boys stood behind her, calling her every name in the book. When she had done eating, Lily got up and left the table, dragging Sirius with her. Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew followed them.

When they arrived in their first classroom, which was the Charms classroom. The tiny little Professor announced that they needed to pick someone to sit with, somewhere to sit, and stay there for the rest of the year.

Lily turned to ask Sirius, but saw that he and Potter had already settled into seats, and were talking happily. Lily sincerely wished she knew some hexes to throw at them. She looked around herself, and caught Lupin's eye. He smiled. Lily sighed mentally. Lupin was alright, but Sirius was irreplaceable. However, she sat down beside Lupin, and in front of Sirius.

"So Lily…" Lupin trailed off, looking extremely uncomfortable. Lily guessed he'd only attempted conversation to be polite. She was about to sneer, but a look at the pale face made her think twice. Lupin looked so fragile, it rather scared her. His face was pale, and he had dark circles under his eyes. In fact, had one not looked at his eyes, they would have thought Remus Lupin was the living dead. However, she could see something like compassion, friendship, and fear bubbling inside those eyes. It scared her, she rarely saw such a mix of emotions in one person.

"Are you excited about starting charms, Remus?" Lily asked, giving the pale boy her full attention.

"Yes." Remus' reply was surprised, and almost inaudible. 

"Me too." Lily told him, smiling warmly. Some strange need she really couldn't explain had come over her. She felt very protective towards Remus, as if he was breakable or something. She snorted. Great, she was feeling maternal.

The tiny Charms Professor stood up, waved his hands, and began to call them to order.

"Let me take roll call. Liam Abbott (here) Vanessa Arling, (here)" the Professor began to call off the names of the students. Lily noticed that not many people were paying attention, so she turned around and tried to talk to Sirius. But he was too involved in talking to Potter about Quidditch _I could talk about Quidditch with him_ Lily thought grumpily _He could explain it, then we could talk about it. _ She sighed unhappily, and turned around just as the Professor called out 

"Lily Evans!"

"Here." She mumbled, and had to repeat herself three times before she became loud enough.

When the roll had been called, the Professor smiled hugely, and began to explain how to do a cheering charm. Lily rather thought she needed it as she heard Sirius erupt into laughter over something Potter had said. After all, everyone needed to be cheered up when they had just lost their best friend.

Classes went about the same speed as Charms. Lily got snubbed by Sirius several other times, and each time, she got just a little bit angrier. If anyone else noticed, they didn't say anything, and by the time they entered their last class, Lily was ready to rupture a vein. It was Herbology, and Lily, who had never liked plants, was not in the mood to deal with anything organic that afternoon. Why should she bother learning about magical plants when she couldn't even take care of a that stupid cactus she'd had when she was nine which had died of dehydration? The Professor, who's name was Posy, was rather too cheerful and not very interesting to listen to. Sirius and Potter paired up for the lesson, as well as Remus and Pettigrew, leaving Lily all alone. She grumbled, and looked about her. The only person without a partner was a mousy looking boy who sported thick round glasses and pale blonde hair. She sighed, and went to sit next to him, mentally delivering crushing blows to the back of Sirius' head. The boy turned out to be named Frank Longbottom, and he seemed to know an awful lot about Herbology. The two worked silently for awhile, Lily fighting the urge to lob a bulb at Sirius' head and Longbottom working patiently, packing his bulbs in carefully, and at just the right depth and space. Finally, Lily gave up on her planting, and just shoved them in haphazardly. After all, how could the Professor tell if they were done correctly when the bulbs were buried in dirt? 

When the bell rang, Lily got up, brushed her hands off, and stalked to the castle, not waiting for Sirius and his group of friends. She skipped dinner, and hung out in her room, morosely eating some chocolate frogs she had left over from the train ride. Her train of thought was directed at her ex-best friend, and she seethed with anger. Lily had never ever been shunned by anyone before, and it hurt a lot to have the one person she thought to be her best friend commit such an odious crime. What did James Potter have that she didn't? Besides being a girl, she was as intelligent, she knew exactly as much as she did, she was as much or even more fun to be around than him. It did not occur to her that perhaps Sirius needed male friends. Lily had never needed friends of the same sex, why should he? Eventually, she fell asleep, cursing Potter and all the rest of them, even her new found friend Remus, just because they all liked Potter, and none of them realized that he was the reason her and Sirius weren't best friends anymore.

A week flew by, and the following Monday, the Gryffindors had their first flying lesson with the Slytherins. Secretly, Lily didn't hate the house as much as her fellow Gryffindors. Her friends, who she had resumed speaking to because none of her other classmates were as funny, swore that the Slytherins were the epitome of evil, and were to be avoided at all costs. Lily really couldn't see this, she'd even talked to a couple of them, and hadn't been able to pinpoint any homicidal tendencies lurking inside them.

The sky was over cast and gloomy. Lily was fairly nervous, not only because she'd never flown alone before, but because it seemed that everyone else in her year had. Sirius was telling stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping bloodthirsty hang-gliders, and the way Potter told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the country side on his broomstick. Even Pettigrew would tell anyone who'd listen that he'd almost hit a goose on his brother's old broom. They were still talking about it as they walked out onto the Quidditch pitch, and waited for the teacher. Lily waved to a Slytherin girl who she'd been partnered with in Potions, and the girl waved back. Finally, the teacher arrived, and instructed them to stand beside the brooms laid out on the ground. Apparently, all they had to do was stand beside it, stick out their right hand, say "up", mount the broom, and kick off. Lily had only ever flown with Sirius, and only for a few minutes before they got in trouble. However, she put on a brave front, and held her hand over the broom.

Much to Lily's surprise, the broom jumped into her hand when she said "Up" and mounting it was easy enough. Then she kicked off, just a small kick on the ground, not one with enough force to take her very far. And suddenly, she was in the air, flying. She let out a shrill whoop, and looked around her. Sure, she was maybe 6 feet up, but the sensation of flying…it was more than she had ever dreamed of! She felt light as air and invincible. She was in the sky, and she could do anything! She looked around her, and saw that Sirius had also joined her in the air. He grinned at her, and waved. Of course he could do it, she'd seen him. Potter was also up, and he smiled at Lily happily. Lily didn't return the smile. She was so sick of Potter trying to be nice, she had decided to ignore him. Remus and Pettigrew hadn't managed to become airborne yet, but Remus was the closest of the two to achieving it. Peter still hadn't managed to get his broom off of the ground. 

They spent the rest of the lesson skimming around, about four feet off of the ground. Lily, Sirius and Potter got into trouble for playing tag and flying too fast, Remus finally succeeded in joining them, and Pettigrew got a foot off of the ground before falling down again. At the end of the lesson, they trooped back up to the common room, where Lily found herself sitting between Potter and Sirius on the couch, instead of all by herself in an armchair. Sirius was congratulating her on her flying so well, and even Potter seemed impressed. Not that Lily cared if he was, it was just nice to have people admire her.

They stayed up, talking well past midnight. Eventually, Pettigrew fell asleep curled up in front of the fire, and Lily, upon looking out the window, made a comment about the waxing moon. Catching Remus out of the corner of her eye, Lily noticed how much more pale he looked in the firelight, and wondered if he was ill. But she didn't ask. After all, she had known the boy a grand total of one week; she hardly expected him to pour out his deepest secrets to her. Still, the color of his face worried her, she really hoped he wasn't sick.

"I don't feel too well." Remus muttered, confirming Lily's suspicions

"You don't look too well." Lily informed him.

"I know." Remus said, a battle raging inside his mind. He wanted to tell them, but how would they react? He liked all of them a lot, he wanted to be their friend, but would they want to be his friend? Who in their right mind would want to be friends with a monster?

Eventually, the silence was too much for Sirius to bear, and so he pulled Lily's hair, making her yell, and grab a fist-full of his own black locks, of which he was rather vain. Sirius had known she would do this, and so he grabbed another hand-full of Lily's hair.

"Hey!" Lily said angrily, as she grabbed hold not of Sirius' hair, but of his ear. They struggled for a moment, before Potter intervened, grabbing Lily by the back of her robes, and hauling her away. Unfortunately, Lily was still holding onto Sirius' ear, and Potter's efforts were rather painful for Sirius.

"OWWWW!" he hollered rather loudly. Lily let go, a look of disgust creasing her features as she rubbed her hand off on the back of Sirius' robes.

"Do you ever clean your ruddy ears?" she demanded crossly. 

"No." was Sirius rather jovial reply as he messaged his ear with one hand.

"I figured as much." Lily told him, and stood up.

"Where are you going Red?" Potter asked, smiling crookidly.

"To bed."

"Doncha want to help us play a few jokes?" Potter asked. Lily struggled with herself. On one hand, her warm fluffy and very inviting bed awaited her. On another hand, if she left, then she would look like a sissy and drift further away from Sirius. The thought of loosing her best friend even more than she already had made her descision.

"On second thought, maybe I will stay up." she told Potter with some irritation.

"Great. Wait until you hear what we have planned." Potter said, motioning for her to resume her seat, and for Remus to wake up Pettigrew, and move in closer to their circle.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything to date, including a certain line I used in this chapter, with a few words changed. I own nothing, except for the plot, of course. I'll always have the plot!

Jennifer Longbottom: Lily was the baby they didn't know was coming. I prolly should have been more specific. :0)

Meg: S'ok, I agree. R/H is the best, but some of the other are good too.

x Goddess Eden x: Can I read your story? It sounds really cool!

UnforgivenChild: Really? I didn't know Faith called Will, Red. I didn't watch very much Buffy when they were in High School. I watched it sometimes. But for the past two seasons, I've watched it regularly. I was ready to kill them after the season finale. Grrrrr.

Thanks also to: 

Little Witch 

Lilly Potter

Angel of Music 

Shampoo ul copt

Sakura

George and Fred 

Anne winters 

Ankita

Trina-k

And, a bit of promotion for my little sister, who just joined, if anyone wants to read her Harry/Ginny (with a bit of Ron/Hermione) story, then please, got see her story [Just another Ginny fic][1]

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=293597



	4. Year One- Poetry can be Frightening

Lily's first month at Hogwarts came and went, the her second as well

Lily's first month at Hogwarts came and went, then her second as well. Lessons became rather interesting, with the exception of History of Magic, in which Lily found a peaceful environment where she could make up for the hours of sleep lost prowling Hogwarts with her friends. It was in one such lesson that Lily and her friends came up with the most brilliant idea they had ever thought of.

"A what?" Pettigrew asked, leaning very far back in his chair to hear what Lily, Potter and Remus were all trying to explain at once.

"A map. Of Hogwarts. With everything marked on it!" Potter told him, excited past making very much sense.

"How would we do that? It's impossible!" Pettigrew said "You can't map Hogwarts."

"No, you can't plot Hogwarts. There's a difference. If you plot Hogwarts, your giving away it's location. We're not doing that. We're mapping the inside, and Hogsmeade, and the forest, but not the way to get to Hogwarts from any of those places." Lily explained to him, nearly tipping over as well because her chair was bent so far backward.

"Oh." Pettigrew said and then again "Oh" with more understanding.

"Great. Now listen, there's no actual spell for this, you know. It's going to involve making up spells, which is fairly easy to do, you just change some words. I think. Well, we could try it. I mean, the worst we could end up as is…dead." Sirius said, scribbling things down on a piece of parchment. 

"Wow! Sirius, what a great idea!" Pettigrew exclaimed, causing Lily to humph. 

"Sirius and _Lily_" she reminded him, wanting her fair share of the praise. Pettigrew stayed silent. Lily, getting angry, gave him the teeniest shove, and his chair tipped all the way over, sending him flying under James and Sirius' table. Lily put her chair into it's normal position, and began to doodle on a piece of spare parchment for the rest of the lesson.

It was not until dinner that Lily noticed the four boys hadn't spoken to her. She was sitting down in their usual spot, but when they entered, they took seats at the opposite end of the table. Lily frowned, but her pride wouldn't let her get up and ask them what was wrong. Finally, after what seemed like forever , the meal ended, and Lily caught up to them as they filed out of the hall with a cheerful "Hi Guys." No one replied. Lily, flustered and angry at this sudden silence from her friends, tore through them, tears pricking at her eyes.

"Aren't we being a little harsh on Lily?" Sirius asked, watching the girls retreating back.

"No. She called Peter an idiot mudblood and a squib." Potter reminded him "That's what you said, wasn't it Peter?"

"Yes." Pettigrew squeaked, although there was a hint of guilt in his voice.

"Well then, she's no friend of ours." Potter concluded, frowning in the direction Lily had left in. Sirius nodded, although he had this nagging little feeling…..

Lily was crying. She wasn't doing so out of hurt as much as anger. How _dare_ they be so mean to her! She didn't deserve to be treated so cruelly! She didn't even know what she had done to them.

"Why Lily Evans…what are you crying for?" the voice was female, and kindly. Lily lifted a tear stained face, and looked at the girl who had entered the dorm. She was short and pudgy, with pretty gray eyes and curly brown hair. Lily recalled her name was Phyra, and that she had, upon waking up on the morning of their second day at Hogwarts, plastered the wall beside her bed with posters of James Bond. 

"I am not crying." Lily told her, wiping red eyes on her sleeve.

"Well, it sure seems to me that you are. What is the matter?" Phyra insisted, sitting at the foot of Lily's bed.

"I really don't think I have to tell you" Lily told her, not wanting to confide what she did not know herself to her roommate.

"All right Lily Evans…you cry here….but if you ever want to tell me instead of mouthing off…come find me." Phyra said, and got up from Lily's bed. Lily felt like throwing her alarm clock at Phyra's head, but restrained herself. It wouldn't help matters much.

Furious with herself for crying, Lily crawled under her bed, and, taking out a quill, began to write on the wood which supported the mattress. There were past scribbles on it, most of which had been written by other students "Phyllis and George forever" "Slytherin sucks" "I love J Erikson" but, towards the head of the bed, someone had scrawled a poem. Lily looked at it, but could not make it out in the dim light. She light up her wand, and held it up to the scarred oak.

__

When the midnight clock strikes 

The hour of Witching holds tender frights

Dreams and prophecies run amuck

At the watchful stroke of the old oak clock

Once

A thousand years ago

When Hogwarts was still young

Gryffindor felt his last breath

And his last spell begun 

Recorded nowhere but this board

The truth will come ere long

Once you, my reader

Have found the key

To what Gryffindor has done

Look under

There was no more to the poem, and Lily wondered whether the poet had been interrupted while they were writing it. Reaching up a hand to touch the writing, Lily found that the board moved slightly. After poking it several times, she found what seemed to be a piece that did not correctly fit into the rest of the board. Lily put her fingers under it, to pry it open, but withdrew almost instantly as she felt something sharp slice into her flesh. 

"Ouch!" she hissed, flipping onto her stomach to examine the fine, precise cuts on her fingers. Almost as if a razor had been lodged in the boards. Lily snorted in disgust, her curiosity gone for the time being as she crawled from beneath the bed, and dripped her way over to the bathroom. She ran water in the sink, and let it clean out the cuts. Then she pulled out some toilet paper, wound it around her fingers, and hurried to the infirmary to get a bandage.

A/N Most of that was pointless. Part of it wasn't, because it's the start of the ending. J sorry it took me so long to update….. 

And the poem is weird, but c'est la vie…..review, please….

UnforgivenChild: I read something in TV Guide that said Buffy would be back next season….geesh, I hope it's actually Buffy, and not Dawn. I don't really like Dawn. Have you updated your story yet? I 'll have to check it out to see if you have!

am amritaran@hotmail.com: You've only met one author who ever continued with an unfinished fic? Really? Wow. I know tons of authors with great fics, still being written and updated!

Thanks:

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StarChildHlermione86

trina-k 

am amritaran@hotmail.com (who also reviewed one and two, but wasn't mentioned)

Lilli Lupin

Eliz Black 

UnforgivenChild

__

For reviewing my story

Expect the nest chapter in the next two days, and I am REALLY sorry for the delay!


	5. Year One- All that we are, and all that ...

Calliope sat on the couch in the living room of her house, playing with one of those relaxation balls

WARNING: Some language in this chapter. Just a warning

Calliope sat on the couch in the living room of her house, playing with a relaxation ball. She didn't find the ball relaxing though. Just aggravating. Calliope was waiting for her husband to come home from work. This wasn't the first time, and certainly would not be the last. He was supposed to be taking her to a party that one of his business associates was throwing, and Calliope was dressed up to the nine's. She looked very pretty, and she was aware of that fact, often glancing up at her reflection in the mirror that hung over the mantle piece. Her suspicions as to where her husband was so late were grating on her mind. He would not, ever, be doing what she was so worried he was. Mark would never cheat on her, not his wife of 12 years. 

What Calliope really wanted to do was pick up the neon yellow phone, and dial Mark's work number. She wanted him to answer, and tell her that he was swamped with work, and that he loved her, and he would be home soon, and to forget the dinner, because they would have cheese and wine when he got home.

In a sudden moment of determination Calliope picked up the phone, dialed the number that took her directly to his office, and waited for it to ring.

"Hello?" Mark's voice, slightly distorted by the phone line, answered.

"Hi, honey, it's-"

"You have reached Mark Evans and associates. We're not in the office right now, please, leave your name, number, the time you called, and a short message after the tone, and we'll get back to you ASAP. Thanks."

Calliope hung up, and choked back tears.

"Mark is just on his way home now." She reminded herself, squeezing the stress ball "He'll be through that door any minute now, and we'll go out to dinner." The ball popped, spraying Calliope's dress with grains of sand, and Calliope buried her face in her hands.

An hour and a half later, She went and changed into slacks and a blouse, packed an overnight bag, some money, and went out of the front door.

Lily couldn't wait for Christmas vacation to arrive. It was only three weeks away, and all of Hogwarts was a buzz of nervous activity. Moreover, Lily's friends still weren't speaking to her. She didn't know why, and didn't ask. Because of her reluctance to talk to any of her dorm mates, house mates, or school mates, Lily found herself very alone. And she hated it. She hated it so much so that she had begun to cry herself to sleep, she was so lonely. This, for Lily, was unusual. She rarely cried, because she thought it showed weakness. Sirius, who often looked around for Lily, saw her puffy eyelids and the deep circles under her eyes, and felt bad about ignoring her. But, not wanting to loose his male friends, he did something he had never done; he followed the crowd.

On a surprisingly sunny day in late November, Lily was leaving the charms class room, where she had been practicing the petrification charm with Professor Flitwick. She was just about to duck behind a tapestry that would take her to the girls bathroom, when she heard a tiny whimper around the corner of the hallway. Lily backtracked, and peered around it.

Pettigrew was being pinned against the wall by three Slytherins. One, a fifth year, Luscius Malfoy, who was the one holding him to the wall, had his wand was pointed at Pettigrew's nose. The other two, Severus Snape, who wore a rather nasty smile, and Hans Goyle, an ape of a boy who was too stupid to have an expression on his face, flanked Luscius.

"Pettigrew, this will teach you and your stupid friends to hex the Slytherin common room, won't it?" Luscius sneered, ready to cast a spell that would, with no doubt, be very painful. Lily wanted to leave, but her conscience had other ideas. She gathered her courage, and stepped around the corner.

"Why Pettigrew, I see you've made friends with the Slytherins." Lily said, trying her best to be nonchalant.

"Lily!" Pettigrew said, relief visible in his face. Luscius glared at the boy, and turned to Lily.

"May we help you?" he demanded, looking her up and down, trying to discern if she posed any threat. What he saw- a scrawny girl of eleven or twelve, her red hair in two messy tails, her robes wrinkled, and her face dotted with impertinent freckles- did not inspire much fear in him. 

"I would say yes, you see, I heard a yelp, and I was coming to rescue someone from your clutches. But, since it's Pettigrew, I don't really know if I want to." Lily told him, looking directly at Pettigrew as she spoke. The latter shrunk down- if it was possible in his position- and managed a pleading look.

"Please, Lil." Pettigrew said, a look of panic on his face.

"Please what? Do you expect me to fight three boys? One who is a fifth year, one who is a foot taller than myself, and one who could kill an elephant if he sat on it?" Lily demanded, feeling her face change color to match her hair in indignation.

"N-no." Pettigrew admitted, not having thought about it.

"Good." Lily turned to Luscius "Can I have Pettigrew back, please? His friends would miss him terribly if something happened to him. So terribly, in fact, they might do something like this-" Lily pulled out her wand, and used the charm she had just mastered. Luscius Malfoy fell over, clattering to the ground like a board. As he let go of Peter, the boy dashed off, leaving Lily to face Snape and Goyle. Lily herself wasted no time in running off, aware that she had the two boys on her heels. Luscius Malfoy's yells chased them down the hall

"Come back here you idiots and un-curse me!"

Panting, Lily reached the entrance to the common room

"Nimble House-elves!" she gasped to the Fat Lady.

"My my, aren't you a mess. My dear, young ladies should not behave like-" Lily didn't stop to hear the portrait's words, but sped into the common room before the Slytherins could catch up to her.

"Lily!" Pettigrew called, spotting Lily on her way upstairs. Lily turned around, and walked over to where Pettigrew was, glaring at her former-friends.

"Look, Lily, Peter told us you said something-" Sirius began

"Course I did." Lily told them. The shock on all of their faces was evident.

"You did?" Even Potter's face was incredulous 

"Of course I did. Someone had to. I know you would have if you'd seen it."

"So, you really did say what Peter told us you said." Sirius asked, then looked at Peter "you just said she didn't."

"Of course. I did, any decent human would have." Lily told him, raising an eyebrow.

"So you called Peter an idiot mudblood and a squib?" Potter asked. Lily almost jumped back in surprise

"I most certainly did not!" she said, much affronted.

"What did you say then?" Sirius demanded, thoroughly confused.

"I said something to those Slytherins who had Pettigrew pinned against the wall- What's this about me calling him an idiot mudblood and a squib?" she asked, glaring at Pettigrew.

"Peter told us you said that about three weeks ago….and he just now told us that you didn't really say it, and he'd only said you did because- get this- he was jealous!" Sirius said, grinning at Lily as if daring her not to see the humor in the situation.

"So you….have been ignoring me……because Pettigrew said I said something……and you didn't even bother to see if I really had said anything?" Lily demanded, seething with anger.

"Well, technically…..yes" Sirius admitted. 

"I should curse you all. I honestly thought that you were smarter. Ok, well maybe not Pettigrew…..or Potter….but you, Sirius, you didn't even bother to ask me. Even though you've known me longer than you have Peter?" Lily said, bringing out her wand.

"Now Lily, don't get angry-" Sirius began, reaching out to grab her wand.

"You owe me. You do, Sirius Black. I shan't forget this rudeness." Lily informed him, a nasty grin spreading across her face. "But for the time being, let's work on that map." She said, sitting down between Sirius and James.

Sirius grinned as well.

"Great." He told her.

**__**

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"Mrs. Evans, Mr. Evans, the court has reached a decision." The Judge's voice rang out in the court room "Mrs. Evans will have custody over the children, the summer home, the car, and ½ of the household items. Mr. Evans will have their immediate residence, their second car, and ½ of the household items. Court adjourned." 

Calliope looked over at Mark, who was sitting with that blonde idiot at his side. She was younger than Calliope, and Calliope briefly wondered how Mark, who was balding and not very handsome, had managed a girl like that. But then she remembered the money. Calliope had married for money. She had just been lucky enough to fall in love as well. Her marriage had almost been arranged- everyone had expected it, and so they had wed. And now, she was divorced, and left out on her own. Well, not entirely. She had a college education, a degree in Design, and she could live at the already-paid-for summer home. It was just the girls she worried about….them, and Christmas.

Dear Lily

I don't know how to say this, honey, so I am just going to come right out and confess. Your daddy and I have gotten a divorce. Things just weren't working out between us. We'd stopped loving each other, and a family without love isn't really a family at all. I am sorry chick, but your going to have to stay at school for Christmas vacation, because I have to get the summer house re-done, and find work. I love you, and I'll see you when school ends. I am very sorry, chick.

Luv

Mum.

Lily re-read the letter, than burnt it over a candle at the dining table. Her friends watched as she did this, and, after the letter was reduced to ash, Lily turned to them.

"I am staying here for Christmas." She said in a flat voice.

"That's great, Lil." Sirius said, putting a hand on her arm. " I think I'll stay too, and James plans to. We'll celebrate together!"

Lily nodded, slightly numbed. Why hadn't she seen the divorce coming? Mum and dad had seemed perfectly happy, and they had seemed to love each other. Could so much really change in three months? Could it be her fault? Perhaps, without her and Petty there to hold things together, her family had fallen apart. Lily excused herself from the breakfast table, and slumped off to find the late sign up list for those staying at Hogwarts, thankful that vacation started Friday. 

"Oi, Red, wait up will you!" someone yelled, chasing Lily as she walked towards the great hall. Lily stopped, turned, saw it was Potter, and kept walking. Unfortunately, he caught up with her, and grinned disarmingly. Lily didn't really hate James Potter, she was, for lack of a better word, jealous. After all, he was the boy who had taken her place in Sirius affections (A/N this is not intended to be slash, I meant purely friendship wise) and who had shunted her out of the best friend category. She was jealous because he was a pureblood, and she was not. Jealous because he was Sirius' best friend, and she was not, jealous because he had that damned invisibility cloak, and she didn't. The list went on. 

Lily was in a horrible mood presently. She didn't want to contend with the likes of James Potter. What she wanted to do was cause him bodily harm, preferably with something sharp. Lily had been plagued by strange dreams….if she could call them dreams…..all night. Dreams she didn't really want….dreams that started out well enough, with unicorns and faeries (neither of which she really liked, but could tolerate) and then they had metamorphosed into dreams of a laughing clock, a lion with a long white beard dressed as a wizard, and numerous other things Lily couldn't describe. And ,after waking up twice because of these haunting fantasies, Lily had decided not to sleep. Which of course meant that she was as grouchy as anything.

"Say, Red, what do you think of Sirius?" Potter asked, trying to look casual. Lily gulped slightly.

"He used to be my best friend." She told him honestly.

"Why did you say 'used to' Red?"

"Why, your his best friend now, Potter. Congratulations." Lily sneered, her childish side (the bigger portion of her personality) taking over.

"Sirius can have two best friends, Red, it's not impossible, you know."

"Feck off James." Lily told him. Potter stopped, and let her continue on her way. He was slightly surprised. Not at the swearing. Given the chance, Lily would rattle off any number of swear words, both in English and French. Surprised because she had been mad enough to call him James. _This poses some looking into_ he mused, rubbing his chin like the men in the movies _Lily's soft spot is Sirius eh? What a horrible soft spot to have._

Christmas came and went like any other Christmas for Lily….well, not really exactly like any other…..other Christmases she had not been A) Away from home B) The child of a "Broken" family C) A Witch (well, she hadn't known about it anyway) 

Her friends celebrated, and dragged Lily into it, setting off dungbombs, pulling crackers, and chatting to Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster. But the holiday lacked it's normal pizzazz, and wasn't any more enjoyable to Lily than it had always been. In fact, she was glad when school started again. Glad until Phyra, who had come back even more cheerful and kind than when she left, decided to make Lily her friend.

"Hi Lil, how was your Christmas?" Phyra asked, plopping onto Lily's bed in a way that suggested she meant to stay.

Lily made some kind of noise. Phyra immediately assumed that something was wrong, and put on a concerned look.

"Lily, what is the matter?" she asked, inching up Lily's bed as if invading her personal space would squeeze the secret out of her.

"Nuttin." Lily told her, burying her face deeper into 'Jude the Obscure,' a fascinating novel which belonged to her father; and had been taken without his consent.

"Aww, come on Lily, tell me." Phyra insisted. Lily was beginning to get annoyed with this girl. 

"AB-SO-LUTE-LY nothing." She told the girl, turning around so her back was facing Phyra.

"Alright Lily. Listen, we're going to have a little party tonight, here, in the dorm, with some other 1st year girls. If you want, you can come, you just need to bring some kind of food. What do you say?" 

"I think I'll sleep in the common room tonight." Lily grabbed her quilt, and stalked off, muttering curse words under her breath.

It wasn't that Lily didn't like the company of females as opposed to males…she just knew what Phyra and her set would be talking about. Romance, love, kissing, the good-looking boys. She also knew that among those mentioned would be Potter, Sirius and possibly Remus. And, as much as she would have liked to have eaten the food they brought, and talked about each other, Lily could not bear the idea of talking about her friends in such a silly way. 

She made her way into the common room, and, selecting the red plushy couch, she curled up under her quilt, and dozed off, blissfully unaware of everything around her.

Around midnight, Lily woke up from a dream. She panicked, briefly, but then remembered that she was in the common room. In the dim light of a dying fire, her surroundings seemed much more different than they did in the daytime hours. Lily, who had always been fond of ghost stories, didn't particularly like the skin crawling feeling she was getting. The hairs on her neck and arms were beginning to prickle, and she shivered, suddenly feeling cold. Outside, the wind blew snow drifts into odd shapes that glowed ethereally in the moonlight, and, in the light of the full moon, Lily felt as if Hogwarts had been transformed into something ghostly and dangerous. She thought briefly about getting up and going back to her dorm, but then she remembered the girls and their party. 

__

I suppose I'll have to stay here Lily reasoned with herself _It can't be that bad, it will be morning soon._ She closed her eyes, and tried to settle into sleep. But things kept haunting her thoughts, and after a moment, Lily opened her eyes to see that The common room had changed, and she was surrounded by people, whose skin had a transparent-like quality she couldn't quite explain.

A/N I am aware that divorces take longer to work out…for the sake of this, imagine it had been going on for awhile.

I am sorry, it's a cliffhanger or sorts, and it's evil of me, but…….oh well. I don't have time to finish. Heh.

StarChildHlermione86: I feel sort of sorry for Peter…..I mean, the younger Peter, not the older one. He sickens me. But the younger one always seems so…..scared. She made up with her friends, though, see?

PotterGurlie: I hope that they bring her back to life too…Dawn would be….not a good slayer. Yeah.

Hogwarts chica : Silly me, I never thought of that….I mean…..of course it is, you read my mind……yeah. J that's a really good idea…….mind if I use it?

Jinskid3:Thanks, it's always nice to know people like what I am writing J 

Amelia: I don't think Peter was bad, for the most part, as a child. It's just later on, when he became a Deatheater and betrayed Lily and James. Thanks for what you said about my story!


	6. Year One- The Ghosts of Gryffindor

Lily couldn't believe her eyes

Lily couldn't believe her eyes. She peeked out from under the blanket, and saw that the room was crawling with Hogwarts students, through whose bodies she could see the walls of the common room. As she watched, they became increasingly solid, until a passing boy's robe brushed Lily's hand, and she almost cried out in surprise.

__

Where am I, and how do I get back to where I was? Lily wondered, as she looked around at the students, none of which seemed to notice her. She stood up silently; shedding her covers, and walked over to the nearest group of kids.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me where I am?" she asked the girl nearest her. The girl looked at her, and Lily felt a chill run up her spine. The girl's eyes were completely devoid of life. They were listless blue pools. She barely even blinked. Lily stumbled back a bit, and the girl smiled evenly.

"You are at Hogwarts, it is the opening day. We are the first students to be sorted into Gryffindor. Come celebrate, Lily Evans."

"How do you know my name?" Lily asked the girl, but either she didn't hear, or didn't want to tell Lily.

"Come on!" the girl called, running up the stairs. Lily glanced around at the other students. Strangely, they seemed to be fading again. Not wanting to stay in a room full of disappearing people, Lily followed her up the stairs to the first year girl's dormitory.

"What is your name?" Lily asked, but she received no answer.

"You ask too many questions, Lily Evans. Sit, listen, this will be important." The girl told her, plunking Lily down on a brand new mahogany bed.

"What's going to happen?" Lily queried.

"I told you. Watch. I don't know why he chose you; you ask far too many questions. You are supposed to listen. You and that stupid boy…neither of you listened very well." The girl's blonde curls bounced as she shook her head in disapproval.

"What boy? You took someone else here?"

"We don't take you, you come readily. Watch." 

Lily did as she was told, and saw time speed up, flying by her eyes until she was dizzy from watching it move so quickly.

Someone came into the room, Lily was sure. She saw the glint of steel, and suddenly, someone became visible. Well, in actuality, this someone was shadowed. Lily saw what could have been blonde hair, and deep red robes, but she couldn't see the face, and couldn't tell whether the person was male or female.

"Now, Lily Evans, you watch."

"I am watching, I am watching." The person slid under a bed just across from Lily's, just under the window, and Lily heard scratching coming from where they lay.

"What are they doing?" Lily asked the girl

"Go see."

Lily got down on all fours and crawled over to peek under the bed. The person was on their back, prying a board loose from the bed. As she watched, they slipped the silver object-some sort of sword or knife- into the crack they had made, and wedged it closed.

"What are they doing?" Lily demanded.

"That, you need to find out for your self, Lily Evans. You cannot return until you do." The girl told her

"Wait, he's scrawling something on the bed…does that count? It's….hey!" Lily shot up and hit her head on the bed. "That's my bed!"

The girl smiled again, making Lily shiver. "Very good, Lily Evans. Now you can go back. We'll return for you though, I promise."

Lily opened her eyes. She was surrounded by darkness, and felt as if she was in an enclosed space. She reached a hand up, and it connected with wood. Feeling around for her wand, Lily found it and muttered "Lumos". The under board of a bed met her gaze. Lily drew in a choked breath, and peered at the writing. There was more to the poem!

__

Under the wood

Of times long gone by

Look there you should

See what you can spy

Be it still there

Stifle your cries

For this, should you care

Is where the truth lies

When the powers of dark

Take over the light

Look for my mark

And all will be right

It takes more than one

To defeat a foe

It will not be fun

That much you must know

Now, this is where you must…

__

Again, the poem was not finished. Lily furrowed her brow. What had happened to her? How had she…it must have been a dream…but it couldn't be…. 

Lily felt very confused, and very tired. She crawled from beneath the bad, and looked at the sleeping girls around her. Phyra had a ring of chocolate around her mouth, and Gladys, Phyra's friend, was curled up with a bag of crisps.

"I wonder what time it is" Lily said aloud, and glanced at the clock, which read 4:15 am. Lily sighed, pulled herself back under the bed, and went to sleep. She didn't wake up until 1:00 p.m. the next day, when Phyra began to pour water on Lily from her wand.

"What's the big idea? It's too early!" Lily protested groggily, water pouring into her nose and mouth.

"It's one o'clock in the afternoon Lily!" Phyra exclaimed as Lily choked on the water she had inhaled.

"What!? That means I missed….food!" Lily said, hurrying to get ready.

"Relax, it's extra-long-lunch today." Phyra told her, helping Lily do up her robes.

"Thanks Phyra, how was your party last night?" Lily asked, feeling genuinely friendly.

"Alright. Lucy confessed that she's, and I quote, 'in luuuuuv with Sirius." Phyra told her, watching Lily's face carefully. 

"Oh did she? Well, I don't think Sirius is very interested in Lucy-" Lily stopped herself "But I could ask, if you want."

"Oh no, that's fine, Lucy's a bit of a ditz anyway, I'll bet Sirius likes more…..intelligent girls, huh?"

"Oh, I don't know." Lily said truthfully "**WE'**ve never discussed it before."

"Oh." Phyra said

"Why do you ask, Phyra?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. Phyra turned red.

"No reason." She said.

"Phyra…do you like Sirius?" Lily asked, pushing down the panicked feeling that had risen in her chest.

"Lily, don't tell anyone, alright?" Phyra begged, clasping Lily's hand.

"I have no intention of telling anyone, believe me." Lily said _Especially Sirius_ she thought.

"Thanks Lil, you're a great friend!" Phyra said.

"Erm, alright, let's go to breakfast now." Lily said, and walked out of the room.

"Red, where have you been all of breakfast…where have you been all my life?" Potter had obviously eaten too much sugar.

"Staying far away from you on both accounts." Lily retorted, sitting down beside Sirius, she helped herself to a large portion of hashbrowns, some sausages, and 4 pieces of French toast.

"Ooh! Red is being mean to me! Whatever shall I do?!" Potter wailed, pretending to cry, all the while flinging eggs at Lily's head.

"Hey, Potter, restrain yourself." Lily hollered, picking pieces of egg yoke out of her hair. "Did you down a bag of sugar or something?"

"Red, the sight of you fills me with joy!" Potter said, then began to sing softly, a song that Lily had never heard before. She winced. Potter was quite obviously tone deaf.

"Your ruddy insane. It's 10:00 in the morning, and your singing. I think I am going to die." Lily told him, glad that she had no classes that day.

"We've got some exploring to do!" Sirius told her happily, grinning as Lily scrunched up her eyes in dismay.

"Well then, where are we?" Lily was becoming exasperated, mostly because they had been stumbling around in semi-darkness for the past half hour. She just knew that they would come out looking messy and mucky, and while this didn't really matter, it would mean doing laundry, which Lily could not stand.

"I am not entirely sure" Potter admitted, looking back at his friends half happily, half apologizing. Lily looked livid, Sirius was eating a banana he had found somewhere and Remus was scratching the back of his head in thought. Pettigrew, who was walking slower than everyone was too far back to be visible, but a little sniffle from Pettigrew's general direction made his thoughts clear.

"Look" Lily said, surveying everyone. "We're not getting anywhere, and we don't know where we came from. It's a shame we never finished that map, or we'd have some clue as to where things are." The other boys exchanged looks.

"Actually, Lil, we did finish it…while we were still angry at you. In fact," Sirius, who had abandoned his banana, pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket "I had it, but I didn't want to make you angry by bringing it out." Everyone stared at him, their thoughts evident Had they just been walking through a dark, dirty corridor somewhere in Hogwarts for half an hour searching for the exit when all along Sirius had had the map with him?

"Sorry you guys, but I didn't want to hurt Lily's feelings." Sirius said. Lily glared.

"Well, that's just fine. Do my idea without me." Lily huffed angrily.

"Well we were angry at you, what else could we do? Besides, it was a really good idea." Sirius told her beseechingly. Lily was still angry, but she grabbed the map from him.

"How does it work then?" she asked

"You tap it and say ' I Solomnly swear I am up to no Good'" Potter told her. Lily did so, and suddenly, words flooded the map.

__

Messers Prongs, Moony, Padfoot and Wormtail welcome you.

"I take it those are your names? Nice of you to include me" Lily said, but stopped herself when the map appeared. She looked carefully, and saw 5 little dots labeled James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Lily Evans.

"Oh for heavens sake, we're just under the kitchens!" Lily exclaimed angrily, pointing to the map. According to this, we're standing right underneath an exit."

"Underneath?" Potter asked, looking up at the ceiling in despair.

"Yeah." Lily said, also looking up.

"That settles it" Remus said decidedly "We boost the two lightest up, and then they open the door, climb into the kitchen, and transfigure something into rope."

Everyone looked around, sizing each other up. Lily groaned inwardly- being the smallest, she was also the lightest.

"That's easy, it's Red and Remus" Potter said after a moment. Lily sighed

"Why do two people have to go? One would be easier." She said.

"Because it's hard to haul people up when there is only one person doing the hauling." Potter told her

"Good point" Lily agreed reluctantly, and looked at Remus. "Who's going up first?" she asked.

"You can." Remus told her, looking slightly dizzy. Lily nodded, and Sirius looked at her. 

"Might as well climb up on my shoulders then." He said, shooting a glare at Potter who was making exaggerated kissing sounds.

"Sure." Lily replied, as Sirius bent down so she could climb on his shoulders. _Lucky thing it's Saturday and I am wearing slacks._ She thought, as Sirius stood up and she had to hold onto the sides of his head to keep her balance. As soon as he had stood up fully, Lily, being very cautious, reached as far up as she could, and felt the ceiling beneath her fingers. 

"Walk a little left." Sirius did as she told him, and Lily found the handle. It took a few tugs until she had the door open and could climb into the room above. She sat up slowly, and looked around her. Ten pairs of wide, pale eyes looked up at her. Lily almost screamed, then started laughing. The house elves looked at each other in confusion, until one ventured forth.

"Is there anything we can do for you Miss?"

"Please, my name is Lily, and I was wondering if-" she was cut off by Remus.

"What was that Remus?" she asked, turning around to peer down the hole.

"I was wondering if you were going to help me up" came Remus' voice.

"Oh, oh yes. Sorry" Lily reached into the hole, and grabbed Remus by the wrist. After a few minutes, Remus had joined Lily, and they were waiting for the house elves to return with some rope, all the while eating cookies.

"Lil' the least you could do is throw us down a couple more cookies." Potter yelled up the hole

"No, you dropped the last two!" she called back down, relishing her position of power.

"Miss. Lily." The small squeaking voice behind her made Lily jump. 

"Oh, the rope, thank you!" Lily said, taking the rope from the small house elf, who blushed and bowed.

"Here comes the rope" Lily said, perhaps a smidgen too late as she heard a muffled yelp of protest.

Twenty minutes later, the 5 friends were seated in the kitchen, being waited on by house elves. Lily looked up from her tea at Potter, who was grinning.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"Don't you realize? We finally found the kitchens!" he exclaimed happily.

A/N Well… the long awaited chapter 6….and I am so sorry it took so long, lazy me. Also, I lost its disk. 

Ah now, for thank yous:

Broken Starlight: She who wrote me and reminded me that I had to update… and who's reviewed every single chapter of my stories, and been so nice, and who I hadn't heard from in ages! Hi hi hi! Thank you for reviewing my chapters…all of them. You're so nice J 

Unforgiven Child: It's okay, I don't mind you taking awhile to review J Did you see the season premire of Buffy? We taped it, and I just watched it…AHHHHH….I am very happy… hehehehe

I'll try no more cliffies, promise…soon as I finish this, I am off to read some of yours…

Amelia Amelia@hazelhill.com: I am gald your glad they're friends again. Somehow, I can't help not liking Peter. I want to make him look nice, but he always becomes such a prat, it's impossible. Ah well, I don't know if anyone could handle a nice Peter ;0)

Hogwarts chica: It's kind of weird how you read my mind there. I'd already started writing it, and I read my reviews and went "Oh my." Cool….thanks for letting me use your idea…d'you have an account on ff.net?

Gabby: thanks, thank you a lot. J I'll keep writing if you keep reading…sound like a deal?

Cassondra: Will keep writing, yes, I think so. I don't know how much of an l/j hate fic it will become…but, you never know

If I missed anyone, I am really sorry, my computer will only let me see the last 15 reviews *kicks computer* but thank you for reviewing if you did review, and I didn't mention you!


	7. Author's Note

Nope, it's not a new chapter.

This is actually a notice to say that I am putting this fic on hold. It hasn't been updated in months, and I've just...lost where i was going with it. Expect more L/J fics in the future, just not this one. If mozart21I ever decide to re-start, I'll notify anyone who wants to know, just review saying you'd like to receive notice. I will be continuing my other fics, though, perhaps with the exception of _"Odd One Out" _Thanks for all of the (mostly) positive reviews!

^_^

__

Siobhan, aka Ophie


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